Discover the Latest News and Initiatives for a Sustainable Future

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The U.S. EPA announces nearly $1 billion in grants for schools to replace diesel buses with electric and low-emissions vehicles, with a vast majority going to schools in low-income, rural and tribal communities. (Guardian)

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ALSO:

• Analysts predict global passenger electric and hybrid vehicle sales will grow another 21% this year, though the U.S. market is hard to forecast as new federal incentives come into play. (Bloomberg)
• Goodyear is developing a heavy-duty tire for electric vehicles meant to withstand the heavy cars’ wear and tear. (Bloomberg, subscription)

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CLEAN ENERGY: Upfront cost is the biggest barrier to home energy upgrades like swapping out gas stoves, while lowering energy costs and environmental impact is a top motivator, a survey finds. (Canary Media)

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CLIMATE:

• Scientists confirm 2023 was the hottest year on record, falling just below the 1.5 degree warming limit aimed for under the Paris climate agreement. (Axios)
• Global climate officials balk at the appointment of a former Azerbaijani oil executive to head next year’s COP29 climate conference. (The Hill)
• The U.S. Supreme Court denies fossil fuel companies’ request to move the Minnesota attorney general’s climate lawsuit to federal court. (Star Tribune)

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OIL & GAS:

• Longtime scientist and advocate Sandra Steingraber says researchers have an obligation to speak on hydraulic fracking’s links to environmental health problems, and likens well sites as “these sort of giant cigarettes in the earth.” (Inside Climate News)
• A New Mexico energy auditor says nearly every home he checks has some level of a natural gas leak, underscoring the need to switch to electric heating and cooking. (New Mexico Political Report)

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HYDROGEN:

• Industry groups say the Biden administration’s proposed rules for a hydrogen production tax credit would kneecap the nascent industry while environmental groups say they are needed to keep emissions in check. (States Newsroom)
• New federal tax credit rules will require green hydrogen producers to track power usage on an hourly basis, a potential challenge for the industry. (Canary Media)

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CARBON CAPTURE: The U.S. EPA’s decision last month to hand over carbon capture permitting to state officials in Louisiana has environmental advocates worried that economic considerations will trump public health. (Grist)

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STORAGE: A subsidiary of LG Energy Solution plans to build 10 grid-scale battery storage projects in the U.S. this year following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. (Utility Dive)

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SOLAR: Hawaii advocates say lower payments for customers’ surplus rooftop solar power could incentivize customers to install arrays for their own use rather than exporting to the grid, imperiling the state’s energy transition. (Hawaii Public Radio)

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UTILITIES: Following the defeat of a ballot measure to replace Maine’s investor-owned utilities with a consumer-owned power company, policymakers and advocates explore new ways to improve service. (Maine Morning Star)

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COAL: Two years later, West Virginia lawmakers have yet to act on a workgroup’s recommendations for revitalizing devastated coalfield communities. (Mountain State Spotlight)

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COMMENTARY: Solar farms built beyond a certain size have the ability to affect cloud cover and weather, impacting solar power production in faraway areas, two researchers find. (The Conversation)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Virginia schools have used federal funding, public-private partnerships and direct purchases to become the state with fourth highest number of electric school buses despite limited state funding for bus electrification. (Energy News Network)

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ALSO:

• A group of workers partner with the United Auto Workers to organize an Alabama Mercedes-Benz plant that makes some electric vehicle models, and say 30% of workers there have already signed union cards. (Alabama Reflector)
• As the United Auto Workers try to organize auto plants in Alabama, Tennessee and elsewhere in the South, an author and professor discusses why the union’s previous efforts to unionize the South failed. (WWNO)
• A rural Tennessee town is transformed as Ford builds a massive electric vehicle plant nearby. (Broadside/WUNC)
• A Kentucky school district purchases 23 electric school buses with a $9 million grant from the U.S. EPA. (WSAZ)

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SOLAR:

• After establishing a game-changing solar panel factory in Georgia in 2019, Qcells nears completion of a second, arguably more ambitious plant that will feature the country’s first fully integrated supply chain for solar manufacturing. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• Charlotte, North Carolina, pays for construction of a solar farm on 537 acres as it looks to eliminate carbon emissions at all city-owned buildings by 2030. (WCNC)
• A Georgia county considers increasing setbacks and requiring buffers for solar farms. (WGAU)
• A South Carolina county approves a 41 MW Duke Energy solar farm. (Clinton Chronicle)

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OIL & GAS:

• A state-commissioned South Carolina study questions plans to build a large natural-gas plant, saying the state-owned Santee Cooper utility should instead consider using more solar and battery power. (The State)
• Investigators and environmental groups eye the growing number of natural gas-related explosions, including a recent Texas hotel explosion that initially appears to have been gas-related. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

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FINANCE: An investigation finds that half the funds banned by Texas for “boycotting” fossil fuel industries actually invested a combined $5 billion directly into oil and gas, and two thirds of such funds have more than $13 billion invested in Texas-based companies. (Bloomberg)

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STORAGE: An energy company begins operation of a 150 MW battery storage system in Texas. (Houston Chronicle)

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GRID:

• Texas’ grid manager announces a weather watch as it prepares for extreme cold weather next week. (Austin American-Statesman)
• The Tennessee Valley Authority enters the winter storm season having invested $123 million to harden its coal, gas and hydroelectric plants and $120 million in additional fleet improvements since it suffered rolling blackouts in late 2022. (Commercial Appeal)

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CLIMATE: Data shows the average temperature in 2023 was Texas’ hottest ever, clocking 3.5 degrees above the average for the 20th century. (Texas Tribune)

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COMMENTARY:

• Florida’s energy regulators need better oversight, but utility-backed state legislation could instead reduce accountability and transparency, writes a climate activist. (The Invading Sea/Miami Herald)
• A columnist considers the relative stability of Jacksonville, Florida’s municipal utility as federal prosecutors pursue the trial of former executives for allegedly misleading its board several years ago in an apparent attempt to privatize the utility. (Florida Times-Union)
• Researchers find that investment in renewables within Texas lawmakers’ districts hasn’t broken partisan patterns in voting on bills to hamper renewables and boost fossil fuels. (Heatmap)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The Biden administration awards $623 million for 47 electric vehicle charging projects across the country, with the money set to fund 7,500 new charging ports. (Associated Press)

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ALSO:

• As gas prices fall below $3 per gallon, it still remains cheaper to charge an electric vehicle — the equivalent of $1.41 per gallon, on average. (Yale Climate Connections)
• Virginia schools have used federal funding, public-private partnerships and direct purchases to acquire the fourth highest number of electric school buses in the U.S. despite limited state funding. (Energy News Network)

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EMISSIONS: U.S. power sector emissions dropped 8% in 2023 from the year before, largely thanks to a record number of new solar and utility-scale battery installations. (Canary Media)

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CLIMATE:

• The U.S. saw a record number of billion-dollar disasters last year, facing 28 instances of intense flooding, tornadoes, and other severe weather. (Yale Climate Connections)
• Researchers find human-caused climate change has diminished Northeast and Southwest snow levels, threatening water supplies and hydropower generation in the West and recreation in the East. (New York Times)

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CLEAN ENERGY: The world’s renewable energy capacity skyrocketed in 2023, growing at its fastest pace in 20 years, the International Energy Agency says. (Guardian)

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OIL & GAS:

• A top oil and gas lobbying group launches an advertising campaign meant to promote U.S. fossil fuel production as “vital” to supplying the world with “cleaner, more reliable energy.” (Guardian)
• A Republican senator and the head of a small oil and gas company both had assistance from the same oil lobbyist as they testified against the EPA’s proposed methane fee this week, submitting remarks that were almost identical in some spots. (E&E News)
• The Alaska Indigenous community closest to the Willow drilling project withdraws its opposition to the development on the condition that ConocoPhillips protects subsistence resources. (Northern Journal)

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BUILDINGS:

• Electrification and energy efficiency can reduce buildings’ energy intensity by nearly 40% relative to current levels and generate $2 trillion in annual savings, according to a recent report. (Facilities Dive)
• Boston’s mayor teases plans for a networked geothermal heating and cooling system and a ban on fossil fuel use in new city-owned buildings in her annual State of the City speech. (WCVB, Boston Globe)

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SOLAR:

• U.S. solar panel manufacturer Auxin files another lawsuit against the federal government, alleging a 2022 order to pause panel import tariffs is harming domestic companies. (Canary Media)
• After establishing a game-changing solar panel factory in Georgia in 2019, Qcells nears completion of a second plant that will feature the country’s first fully integrated supply chain for solar manufacturing. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
• Washington state lawmakers introduce bills aimed at expanding underserved residents’ access to community solar. (PV Magazine)

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POLITICS: Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy says long-stalled energy project permitting reform will likely only happen as part of a bipartisan “grand bargain” that would need to include more precise pollutant measurements. (The Hill)

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PIPELINES: After failed efforts to change state law, Iowa lawmakers suggest that blocking the use of eminent domain for carbon pipelines may require intervention by the U.S. Supreme Court. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)

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A new year is here, and so are some big new clean energy developments, including the arrival of federal incentives that could boost the hydrogen and electric vehicle industries.

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Here’s what you may have missed over the last two weeks:

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🚗 Making EV incentives easier: New federal incentives for electric vehicles just took effect, allowing buyers to instantly access up to $7,500 toward a new EV and $4,000 toward a used one instead of waiting for a tax refund. At least 7,400 car dealers have signed up to offer the incentives. (Grist, The Hill)

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💵 Hydrogen rules are here: The Biden administration released draft guidance for its hydrogen tax credit, which prioritize low- and zero-emission hydrogen production. Industry leaders say the rules go too far and will slow growth. (E&E News, Utility Dive)

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☣️ Acknowledging coal ash dangers: A draft risk assessment published by the U.S. EPA for the first time says using coal ash as structural fill in road and other building projects can cause an elevated cancer risk from radiation, validating the concerns of residents and activists around the country. (States Newsroom, Energy News Network archives)  

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🔥 A hot new normal: As 2023 becomes the hottest year on record, scientists predict its extreme temperatures will soon become normal and that 2024 will be even hotter than last year. (Axios, Washington Post)

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🥇 States lead on climate: Clean electricity standards enacted in Minnesota and Michigan bookended a year of state-level climate progress that included gas hookup restrictions and new funding for clean energy manufacturing. (E&E News)

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🕯️ How gas keeps its power: U.S. gas utilities serving more than 35 million customers offer builders and contractors incentives to keep fossil fuels in new buildings, part of a longstanding relationship that could impede electrification. (The Guardian)

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🤝 Labor meets climate: Last year saw significant collaboration between the labor and climate movements as UPS drivers fought for extreme heat safety measures, and autoworkers demanded fair wages amid a transition to electric vehicles. (Grist)

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